Potential for nanomaterials to solve environmental problems

Nanotechnologies are being developed to harvest carbon dioxide and remove heavy metals, pictured above, from water sources. (ETH Zurich)

Jenna Ladd| September 15, 2017

In exciting new research, scientists from around the world are working to develop nanomaterials that can efficiently harvest carbon dioxide from the air and convert it into another useful product.

Nanomaterials are defined as those materials that are smaller than one millionth of a millimeter, or about 100,000 times smaller in width than a human hair. Arun Chattopadhyay is a chemist at theIndian Institute of Technology Guwahati’s Center for Nanotechnology. “Nanomaterials can convert carbon dioxide into useful products like alcohol. The materials could be simple chemical catalysts or photochemical in nature that work in the presence of sunlight,” he said to Climate Central.

The trouble is, nanomaterials are not yet inexpensive enough for wide-scale application. To this point, Chattopadhyay added, “Nanomaterials could help us mitigate pollution. They are efficient catalysts and mostly recyclable. Now, they have to become economical for commercialization and better to replace present-day technologies completely.”

Researchers in France have developed a nanomaterial that uses sunlight and water to transform atmospheric CO2 into methanol. Although this type of nanomaterial may present a cheaper option, scientists are still struggling to create the particles at a consistent size.

Other types of nanomaterials are being developed to remove heavy metals and dyes from wastewater, clean up oil spills and breaking down organic waste more quickly.